Cleaning copper with... Heniz!

[SimpleTECH]

I was taking apart my Heatkiller 3.0 LGA 1366 block and noticed that the oxygen really corroded the copper (see pictures below). So I used a bit of ketchup on both the stainless steel plate and the copper baseplate. After leaving it on for about 6 hours, it did an okay job but I did soak it in some distilled vinegar overnight (12 hours). The after pictures are when I used the distilled vinegar.

[aspire.comptech]

Be careful with letting the ketchup sit on the copper for too long, it has a nasty habit of starting to etch it with prolonged exposure.

[SimpleTECH]

Be careful with letting the ketchup sit on the copper for too long, it has a nasty habit of starting to etch it with prolonged exposure.

Yeah I heard the same. Luckily it didn't do any harm but I took note of that.

I heard Coke is another product to use but after seeing it eat away some metals, I think I will skip on it.

[dinos22]

yeah true that.....only 5 minutes is enough anyways should take out the crap out of the grooves

[Dr.Joe]

That is galvanic corrosion, and has little/nothing to do with oxygen...

[wesley]

That is galvanic corrosion, and has little/nothing to do with oxygen...

Galvanic corrosion happens with mixed metals.

OP, you are using aluminium rads? Or brass rads with PHN and distilled?

Wes

[Dr.Joe]

Every WC setup has mixed metals. Even copper and nickel react. Takes a lot of time, but the copper will corrode the nickel. Every rad i know uses brass endtanks, so another metal into the mix.

The hydrogen-bound oxygen in the water cant react with the metals in the loop. At least not in the scale that is shown in the pic above.

[Tackleberry]

picture #4 looks yummy.
some sprinkled cheese and origano on top would go well for snack.

cilit bang and toothbrush makes wonders. try that next time.

[LeandroJVarini]

nice work!
I use vinegar
I find it very good, I'll test the ketchup!

[shazza]

Assume most know that ketchup is tomato + vinegar + sugar + salt. Just be careful leaving it in contact with the block for too long, and rinse thoroughly after cleaning. Also - be careful using vinegar on nickel-plated blocks, as some have had issues with this.

[[XC] Oj101]

Have you noticed any increase in performance? As for Coke, I used to use it to clean my bicycle chain.

[Kurz]

Every WC setup has mixed metals. Even copper and nickel react. Takes a lot of time, but the copper will corrode the nickel. Every rad i know uses brass endtanks, so another metal into the mix.

The hydrogen-bound oxygen in the water cant react with the metals in the loop. At least not in the scale that is shown in the pic above.

Its the dissolved O2 in the water that reacts with the Copper.
Some people have it more readily than others.

Depends on so many variables.

[Toolius]

Hello
How long did it take to get like this ? im worried about my systems.. :O
could we please know what coolant you were running and if you had any additives in it ?
Cheers and thanks for the heads up
kind regards

[Dr.Joe]

Its the dissolved O2 in the water that reacts with the Copper.
Some people have it more readily than others.

Depends on so many variables.

The dissolubility of O² in Water is extremly low, @30°C its about 8mg/L. An average wc loop holds 1 to 2 L coolant... go figure

[Kurz]

Hello
How long did it take to get like this ? im worried about my systems.. :O
could we please know what coolant you were running and if you had any additives in it ?
Cheers and thanks for the heads up
kind regards

I had the same kind of blackening Oxdation with Distilled water over a period of 3 years now. I used PT Nuke (CU).

I am now running Distilled with Silver Coil, I'll keep any eye on my Heatkiller 3.0 CU to see if it does the same thing as my Dtek Fusion.

[SimpleTECH]

Galvanic corrosion happens with mixed metals.

OP, you are using aluminium rads? Or brass rads with PHN and distilled?

Wes

Just plain distilled water, copper Heatkiller, nickel-plated EK 5870, and XSPC RX480 (brass/copper I believe).

Every WC setup has mixed metals. Even copper and nickel react. Takes a lot of time, but the copper will corrode the nickel. Every rad i know uses brass endtanks, so another metal into the mix.

The hydrogen-bound oxygen in the water cant react with the metals in the loop. At least not in the scale that is shown in the pic above.

Usually my blocks are never this bad. Just the usual little blot on the channels.

picture #4 looks yummy.
some sprinkled cheese and origano on top would go well for snack.

cilit bang and toothbrush makes wonders. try that next time.

Stop it, you're making me hungry.

As for the Cillit Bang, I will keep that in mind.

Assume most know that ketchup is tomato + vinegar + sugar + salt. Just be careful leaving it in contact with the block for too long, and rinse thoroughly after cleaning. Also - be careful using vinegar on nickel-plated blocks, as some have had issues with this.

Yeah I was kind of nervous with my EK 5870 block, so I just scrubbed it with distilled water and a fine toothbrush.

Have you noticed any increase in performance? As for Coke, I used to use it to clean my bicycle chain.

Haven't put my loop back together yet. Still waiting on a few parts (plus I'm busy with homework *sigh*).

Before, temperatures were never an issue. ~59/60°C under LinX with my CPU at 4.2GHz.

I figured that I should clean my blocks while I waited for my new parts. That was when I was greeted with the black oxidation pictured above.

I had the same kind of blackening Oxdation with Distilled water over a period of 3 years now. I used PT Nuke (CU).

I am now running Distilled with Silver Coil, I'll keep any eye on my Heatkiller 3.0 CU to see if it does the same thing as my Dtek Fusion.

Best of luck. Hopefully it won't be nearly as drastic as mine.